


Pixie Dust and Building Trust

by amenokage



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Minor Violence, Not Beta Read, OT8, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, felix-centric, they all live in a house together, they're all supernatural creatures in this, this is gonna be long, typical fae rules apply
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amenokage/pseuds/amenokage
Summary: Lee Felix is High Fae, but no one else can know. Humans don't exactly take very well to supernatural creatures, as Felix had to learn the hard way, many times. So he wraps himself tightly in glamour to protect himself from the harshness of the human world.Somehow, his landlord figures it out anyway, and Felix is left practically homeless. At least, until a group of seven other boys find him and welcome him into their home, and he learns what true friendship and brotherhood is. Slowly, the walls he built around himself start to crumble. Unfortunately, peace never lasts long.Soon, Felix has to make a choice between protecting himself and protecting his friends.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) & Everyone, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 30
Kudos: 205





	1. Early Morning Angels

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Stray Kids fic on AO3 and it's not beta'd, so sorry for any mistakes or mischaracterizations. I'll gladly accept criticism!
> 
> EDIT 2020-09-11: I have edited this work so Wo*jin's name is replaced throughout the already posted chapters. Updates to come soon about where this story is going.
> 
> EDIT 2021-01-12: This story is now OT8. Thank you for waiting!

_Felix_

“We don’t want your kind here!”

That was the last thing Felix heard from his landlord right before he kicked him out for being fae.

Felix ran his fingers through his hair for the thousandth time that night. His human friend Eric had been kind enough to let Felix sleep on his couch for a few nights when Felix had vaguely explained his landlord had cut his lease short when Felix couldn’t meet new rent criteria. It wasn’t technically a lie, so he was fine in telling Eric that much without saying the complete truth.

That meant that Felix was frantically searching the internet for places to rent in the middle of the semester when he should be studying for midterms.

The cafe he was sitting in was practically empty, save for the young barista leaning against the counter whose head was propped in his hand and not-so-discreetly falling asleep. Felix couldn’t blame him--it was the middle of the night, and even for a 24-hour cafe this was surely the graveyard shift. He sighed and refreshed the page he was on again. Nothing new--yet, he added mentally, trying to keep positive despite the circumstances.

Felix was young for the fae, only 20, and though his parents hadn’t lived in the human realm at the time, they thought it’d be advantageous for him to learn the same way humans did, and five years ago had enrolled him in a human high school. While it wasn't uncommon for the fae to cross over into the human realm, High Fae rarely, if ever, did. This meant Felix had had no idea what he was getting into when he accepted his parent's proposition. While it wasn't easy- he never gave up and stuck with it to the end. With his success, they moved the rest of the family through a portal in Australia, where supernatural species were more widely accepted, but Felix chose to stay in Korea, where he’d become comfortable with the culture. After his graduation, he’d found a passion for writing, and started university aiming for an English degree. Learning human languages was difficult, but fun, and he’d had help from kind classmates. But not all humans were kind. Most people his age didn’t care if you were human or not, but many from older generations were wary and skeptical of other species. Because of this, Felix tended to keep his species a secret as much as he could. He’d had too many encounters where friends had turned on him, or landlords had kicked him out. There weren’t any laws against species discrimination, so most supernaturals did their best to blend in with human society--of course, for some, it was near impossible. Merfolk, avians, demons, and many of the lesser fae had the hardest time, with traits that were nearly impossible to hide. Some, you would never know they were anything but human the entire time you knew them. Felix had done his best at his last place to blend in, using a special magic called glamour to hide his ears and humanize his more fae-like features, but he’d been careless with his it one too many times and the landlord had caught on.

Felix swore to himself he wouldn’t slip up again, not like that, and especially not at the worst time in the school year to lose your apartment. He sighed again and considered heading back to Eric’s, but it was late, and he would feel bad if he woke up his friend. He tried to sip his coffee but realized too late that it was empty. He slumped down in his chair and closed his eyes, defeated.

Suddenly, a new mug was placed in front of him, making him jump a little. Felix perked up, glancing at the barista that’d been falling asleep behind the counter a few moments ago, and was now sliding into the seat across from Felix. In his exhausted state, all Felix had noticed about the other boy was his cute chubby cheeks. now he noted his warm eyes and friendly, open demeanor.

“Thank you,” Felix said, throwing caution to the wind with his gratitude. Humans didn’t latch on to debt the same way fae did.

His barista grinned at him, mouth curving into a heart shape.

“No problem, bro! We’ve all been there before, you know, burning the midnight oil to get some last-minute studying in. I get you, my midterms are kicking my ass right now.” the barista laughed, plucking another mug from the tray he’d carried over and taking a sip.

“Oh, yeah, don’t remind me,” Felix grumbled, wrapping his fingers around the warm mug, “Studying would actually be better than what I’m doing now, though.”

“Oh?” the barista asked curiously, his dark hair flopping over his eyes, “What do you mean?”

Felix rolled his eyes, “I’m looking for a new place. My landlord implemented some new silly criteria for rent and I couldn’t afford to keep living there.”

He told a similar story to the one he’d told Eric. It made it sound like his landlord had raised the rent when really he’d kicked Felix out after finding out he was fae, despite there being nothing in the contract against it. But because Felix was technically a guest, he had to obey the rules of the contract as per fae culture, meaning his landlord had the final say on whether he could stay or go. And go he did, almost immediately after the scathing encounter.

He took a sip of the liquid in his mug, finding it to be the exact same as what he’d ordered before. His surprise must have been evident on his face, as the barista laughed again.

“Don’t worry, I promise I didn’t creepily remember your order from before. I'm way too tired for that, anyway. It was on the computer from earlier,” he said, but quickly sobered up, eyes full of concern. “Isn’t raising the rent out of nowhere, like, illegal? And you don’t have a place to live right now?”

“Um, probably. I’m staying at a friend’s apartment for now, but it’s just temporary until I find something.” Felix shrugged and took another sip of the warm drink, savouring the hazelnut flavour.

The barista had latched on to the same words Eric had, letting Felix relax a little. For now, his lie of omission would go unnoticed until someone asked him directly if he’d been kicked out for being fae. Then, he’d have a whole new set of worries. Thankfully, High Fae had a bit more wiggle room when it came to fae rules. If he was lesser fae, he'd definitely have a harder time navigating a conversation.

"So, basically you're homeless right now."

Felix winced, but he had to admit the truth. "Yup. pretty much."

The barista slumped down to match Felix. “Damn. That really sucks. Is there nothing posted online?”

Felix shook his head. “No. It’s not a typical time for landlords to be posting for new tenants, so there’s nothing. Especially since this is a student city, everyone’s rents are up in April or May, not the middle of autumn.”

The barista was frowning into his mug. “That doesn’t seem fair,” he said, more to himself than to Felix. Suddenly, he sat up and leaned over the table, eyes bright.

“Okay, what about this? I live in a really big house--like, huge--and I share with seven other guys, and the owner is super young, like our age, and he’s really nice and the rent is really low and I’m sure there’s a spare room. You could move in, even if it was just for a bit until you found a new apartment. What do you think?”

Felix was taken aback, and his first thought was to decline, but, would he have another chance like this? He didn’t know this guy, but he was nice and friendly enough. Felix couldn't detect any hostility or ill intent from him, either. He believed Felix, and wasn’t skeptical of his story, despite the lack of details. he was just a genuinely nice person trying to do something good for someone else, even though the other person was a complete stranger.

Felix wrapped his glamour around himself a little tighter. As long as there wasn’t another High Fae in the house, which was super unlikely, no one would be able to tell he wasn’t anything other than human. The risk of anyone discovering the truth about his species was low as long as he didn't make anyone suspicious. And if no one discovered the truth, he'd be safe. He contemplated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, and finally looked back up at the barista.

“Are you serious about this?”

The barista’s heart-shaped smile widened and he stuck out his hand for Felix to shake, “Han Jisung. It’s nice to meet you.”

Felix grinned back and took his hand.

“Lee Felix. The pleasure is mine.”


	2. Permission Required

Jisung

Spoopy Bois Chat

*New Messages*

**Squirrel**

So

I may have done a thing

**Dandy Boy**

What’d u do?

**Kangaroo**

Whos memory do i have to erase this time

**Dandy Boy**

Pls tell me you didnt out urself again and got yelled at by a karen

**Squirrel**

SHUT

Nothing like that

Well

Kind of

But not really

**Baby Bread**

Tell us or die

**Squirrel**

Ok fine

So there was this kid in the coffee shop at like 1am and he just looked so so sad so i brought him a refill of his order and it was like someone was nice to him for the first time ever and he lit right up it was so cute

Anyways so we talk for a bit and guess what

**Binnie**

Just tell us bitch we’ll never guess

**Squirrel**

Rude

He basically got kicked out of his apartment and has nowhere to go atm sooo

Iinvitedhimtomoveinwithusandgavehimmynameandnumberandhescomingtolookattheplaceandmeeteveryonetomorrowevening

**Kangaroo**

BITCH

WHAT

*incoming call from Kangaroo*

Jisung gulped before answering the call, “Chan-Hyung, I can explain--”

“What the actual Hell, Jisung! You can’t just do that without talking to us or at least asking first! What were you thinking? This could be so dangerous for us! You have no idea what this kid is really like or if he’s a witch or psycho or a monster-hater or whatever the fuck they’re called, and you just, what, invited him to live with you? Did you ever consider for a moment how risky that is for everyone else, yourself included, to have someone we don’t know move in with us?”

“Hyung! Chan-Hyung, calm down a sec! I’m almost home, I’ll explain what happened in like, two minutes. Can you please please please gather everyone so I can tell you all together?”

“It’s like 6:30 am Jisung, no ones awake.”

“That is so not true, at least half of you are awake, you were texting in the group chat.”

“Okay, fine. But you’d better have a damn good reason for this or you’re dead, you hear me?”

“Yes, okay, I understand, see you in a bit! Bye Chan-Hyung!” Jisung hung up before the siren could get another word in and slumped against the bus seat. He knew Chan would be pissed off, but he couldn’t just let it go when Felix had seemed so exhausted and sad. Jisung had felt the negative emotions from across the cafe, and he’d had to clear the air or he’d suffocate from them. Like, literally. It was like how they said plants died if you yelled at them and thrived if you spoke nicely to them. Jisung was the same: as a dryad, he was affected exponentially by strong emotions, and they’d hung heavily in the air of the cafe like a miasma, making him drowsy, but also very concerned for the sweet-looking boy in the corner. He had just wanted to cheer the other boy up, and it had turned out like this. Jisung didn’t regret his offer, though. He genuinely thought Felix was a good person.

He pressed the button for his stop and got off when the bus pulled over, tucking his chin into his jacket collar to ward off the cold.

“Hey,” said a voice quietly, and Jisung looked up. It was still dark, but he could just make out the shape under the shadow of the building across the sidewalk. Two red eyes peered out at him.

He smiled, tight-lipped, and walked over to them. “Hey, Minho-Hyung. Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

Minho stepped out from the shadows, red fading back to his natural brown, the streetlight casting a harsh glow over his features. He was smiling softly, and Jisung’s heart gave a squeeze. “I saw the group chat.”

Jisung sighed and slipped his arm through Minho’s as they set off down the street to the house. “Yeah. I spoke to Chan-Hyung on the phone already. I’m gonna explain everything to everybody when we get back.”

Minho glanced at Jisung, and it was enough for him to understand the silent question the other boy was asking.

“Yes, I really do think it’s a good idea, and I’m not just saying that cause I’m being stubborn, I swear.”

Minho’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at Jisung. “Okay, Jisungie. I believe you.”

Jisung smiled up at Minho. “Thanks, Hyung. I really appreciate it.”

They reached the house way too soon for Jisung to properly get his thoughts in order, but he opened the door anyway.

“We’re back,” called Minho into the dimly lit house.

“Jisung, get your ass in the living room right the fuck now!” came a threatening voice from down the hall.

Minho grabbed Jisung’s shoulders when he tried to bolt for the stairs and frog-marched him into the living room, where nearly every spot was taken up by the other boys, some of them wide awake, some grumpy and glaring at Jisung.

“Explain,” Chan said, pointing to a spot in front of the tv, where all the couches were facing. Minho went and took a seat on an armrest, nearly sitting on Changbin’s arm in the process, snickering at the other boy’s yelp. Jisung slunk over to his designated spot.

“Okay, so,” Jisung took a breath and explained how Felix had come into the cafe, looking exhausted and worn-out, and a cloud of barely-repressed negativity had followed him through the cafe. He’d been incredibly polite at the counter, though, and had considerately ordered something easy for Jisung to make. As he’d sat in the corner frantically searching on his laptop, Jisung couldn’t take it anymore and had gone to talk to him. “He perked right up when I gave him his refill, Hyung, you have no idea. And he just seemed so frustrated with his situation. I felt bad for him, but also in just the short amount of time we spoke he seemed like a really genuine and kind person. Like he would normally be really bright, but his light was so dim from what happened to him.”

Chan squinted at him. “So?”

“So, I offered a room here.” Jisung wrung his hands as shouts erupted in the room. 

“What?”

“Are you serious?”

“Wow, that was bold of you.”

“Jisung-ah!”

Chan shushed them all before turning to look at Jisung again. “What’d he say?”

“He said yes, on the condition that all of you agreed to him moving in. He’s coming to meet you all tomorrow evening after his last midterm. I promise you’ll like him, he’s really sweet.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “He seems more responsible than you to be honest.” Seungmin weakly smacked Hyunjin’s arm, but he was suppressing a chuckle.

Chan stood with his arms crossed, chewing on his lip. Jeongin patted him gently on the back reassuringly, which Chan leaned in to subconsciously. Finally, he spoke. “Okay. We’ll meet him. I think we can all agree that meeting him won’t do any harm, and we don’t have to decide right away. What time is he coming tomorrow?”

Jisung did his best to repress his smile but failed horribly. “He said his exam was over at 5 pm and that he’d stop to eat before he came, so like 6?”

“Fine. tell him he can come at 6.” Chan said.

Jisung pumped his fist into the air and bounced across the room to hug Chan, who begrudgingly hugged him back. “Go get some rest before you start studying again for your exam tonight.”

“Thank you, Hyung!” Jisung bounded up the stairs to his room and flung himself onto his bed, which was surrounded by potted plants. Dawn was just starting to peek over the horizon, faint beams streaming in through the blinds. Jisung unlocked his phone and opened his messages.

*New Message to Sunshine*

**Squirrel**

Hi felix, it’s jisung from the cafe!

**Sunshine**

Hey! I’m surprised ur still up! Did u get home safe?

**Squirrel**

Haha yeah, one of my roommates walked me from the bus stop, thanks! You?

**Sunshine**

Yeah, and thankfully Eric was already up getting ready for his midterm this morning so i didnt have to worry about waking him up

**Squirrel**

Oh good!

Were u able to get some sleep?

**Sunshine**

Yeah

I have a midterm this afternoon so im eating breakfast 

then gonna study for a bit

**Squirrel**

Mood, but im gonna sleep then study lol

**Sunshine**

Lololol

**Squirrel**

So

I talked to my roommates.

**Sunshine**

What did they say?

I completely understand if theyre against it, no hard feelings or anything

like, we literally just met, so

**Squirrel**

No, no!

They said theyd like to meet you to talk and get to know u

Is 6 tmrw ok?

**Sunshine**

Omg

For real??

**Squirrel**

Yeah fr

**Sunshine**

Ily

**Squirrel**

Damn take me out on a date first

**Sunshine**

lol

but seriously thank you so much

I know it’s not a for sure yes but u really stuck ur neck out for a total stranger and i appreciate that so so much

So

Thank you

Also 6 is perfect

**Squirrel**

Lolol no problem bro

U seem like a good person so im not worried

Study hard!!

**Sunshine**

Haha thanks! Sleep well!

See you tomorrow!

The door creaked open and Jisung immediately closed the blinds tightly so no sunlight streamed in.

“Hey Jisungie,” Minho said, climbing onto the bed with him. Minho smelled faintly of copper and Febreeze. Jisung scrolled to the top of his messages with Felix and handed his phone to Minho to read.

“He seems like a nice person,” he said eventually, after he finished reading the messages. He handed the phone back to Jisung to plug in.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Jisung snuggled up to Minho’s cool shoulder and closed his eyes.

Minho was quiet for a long moment, and Jisung was nearly asleep by the time he spoke again. “Are you sure he’s human?”

The tone Minho used made Jisung sit up and grab Minho’s hands gently. “I’m pretty sure, Hyung, or he’s really good at hiding it. But I couldn’t sense anything from him, so I don’t think he’s got magic at least.”

Minho nodded. “I guess we’ll get a better idea when we meet him tomorrow. Jeongin will be able to smell it on him, I guess, and Jisung and Seungmin can see through some magic. We’ll know for sure then.”

Jisung smiled at Minho, whose eyelids were drooping tiredly. “Let’s go to sleep, Hyung. We can talk about it later, promise.”

“M’kay, Jisungie,” Minho pulled Jisung down toward him, and Jisung slotted himself perfectly into his side. They fell asleep like that, curled around each other, alarm set to ring in a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's Chapter 2! I know it was a bit late but I did still technically post it on the day I said I would! Thankfully classes are starting soon and I'll hopefully get to write more of this when I'm not working nearly every day.
> 
> Let me know what you think and if there's anything that doesn't make sense :)
> 
> *EDITED*


	3. A House On Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix meets the rest of the boys and Changbin has a revelation. Chan is a concerned parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (they get on like) a house on fire

_ Chan  _

“Hey, it’ll be okay, I’m sure. No need to get so worked up right away, we haven’t even met the kid yet. Jisung is a pretty good judge of character, I’m sure he wouldn’t have offered if he wasn’t sure about him.” Seungmin stood in the doorway of Chan’s bedroom, arms crossed, as Chan paced the room, slowly getting ready for work. 

Chan stopped for a moment, rubbing a hand over his face. “I know, it’ll be fine. I’m just worried.”

Seungmin frowned, then stepped forward to grab Chan by the arms to turn the older boy around to face him. “Look, there’s no point in worrying now. Jisung has already texted him at this point, and we can’t go back on our word. So, let’s meet him, and if he gives off bad vibes we’ll just say no.”

Chan scrunched up his face like he was sucking on a lemon. “I suppose you’re right. There’s nothing we can do right now.”

Seungmin nodded. “Exactly.”

“Let’s just make sure to let the other boys know they need to be on their best behaviour, though. If this Felix kid is human, we’ll have to conceal ourselves to protect him and us. If he isn’t, we’ll still have to conceal ourselves until we know if he’s a danger to us or not. Either way, it’s the same outcome.”

Seungmin nodded, agreeing.

Chan smiled at the sweet boy trying to offer comfort and couldn't help but ruffle his hair playfully. “Okay, go get ready for school then, you’re gonna be late.”

Seungmin scoffed but headed for the door anyways. “You’d better run or you’re gonna miss your bus, Chan-Hyung!”

“Oh shit!”

_ Jeongin  _

The doorbell rang the next day, and Jeongin sprang up to rush to the door before Jisung could make it, sticking out his tongue when he beat the other boy. He flung open the heavy wood door and stepped aside. “Hello! You must be Lee Felix, I’m Yang Jeongin. Nice to meet you!”

On the other side stood a young boy, not much older than Jeongin. His hair was bleached light blonde, and his dark eyes were wide. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and was dressed in a yellow hoodie and ripped jeans. Jeongin glanced at the boots he was wearing. “Oh, you’ll fit right in,” he giggled, pointing to the pile of Doc Martins against the wall by the door.

Felix laughed, “Nice to meet you too, Jeongin! I am indeed Felix.” His voice was ridiculously deep, which Jeongin commented on as he gestured for Felix to step inside.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Felix said good-naturedly as he stepped past Jeongin into the house. As he crossed the threshold, Jeongin took a deep whiff of the air as discreetly as he could. Detergent, soap, kimchi-flavoured ramen, faint cologne, a bit of sweat, and under that, stress, worry, hopefulness. Nothing else. Jeongin glanced at Jisung and shook his head. No magic. Jisung grinned at him then turned to Felix.

“Welcome to our humble abode!” he said, gesturing vaguely.

“Humble? This place is huge!” Felix toed off his boots and set them neatly against the wall next to Changbin’s customized pair. Jeongin closed the door and waited while Felix and Jisung bro hugged.

“Dude, you have no idea. I’m pretty sure there are rooms that not even Chan-Hyung has ever been in,” said Jisung, leading Felix into the living room, which had been tidied for his arrival.

Chan rose from his seat next to Hyunjin, “Hello Felix, I’m Bang Chan. nice to meet you! Jisung wouldn’t shut up about how nice you were.” they shook hands, and Felix laughed again. Jeongin squeezed in on the other side of Hyunjin, on the couch across from the only empty seat in the living room. Chan gestured for Felix to sit in the armchair, and he set down his backpack before doing so. Chan pushed a full glass of water in his direction.

“If I’m nice, then Jisung is a saint for even considering offering me a place to stay. Really, I’m so thankful that you all agreed to meet me today. I hope I’m not intruding on anyone’s studying time.”

“Nope!” piped up Jeongin, “Those of us still in school are all finished our midterms. Seungmin was the last one this morning.”

Seungmin offered a smile and waved to Felix, who smiled and waved back. “It was advanced photography theory. Not that hard to be honest, but I’m glad it’s over. What’d you just finish?”

“Romantic classics. It’s pretty interesting but the prof is really boring,” said Felix, grinning, “I’m also glad midterms are over. I was super stressed about them.”

The students in the room all shouted in agreement, causing Felix to laugh again. Jeongin glanced around the room, trying to gauge everyone’s reaction. So far, it was positive. No one seemed put off yet. The least expressive one was Changbin, surprisingly, who was looking at Felix with a mostly neutral expression and an incredibly stiff posture. He seemed oddly nervous. Jeongin eyed him, but filed it away for later.

“Let’s all introduce ourselves, then!” Said Chan when the shouting had died, I’m Bang Chan, this is my house. Well, it’s technically my family’s, but I’m in charge of renting and stuff. I also went to your uni until a couple of years ago, and I work as a music producer now.”

“My name is Lee Minho. I’m born in 98, so I’m your Hyung. I work at the animal shelter near the main drag. I also have cats, so I hope you’re not allergic.”

“Seo Changbin, also your Hyung. I tattoo.”

“I’m Hwang Hyunjin, in the same year as you at university. I’m studying interior design right now and it’s kicking my ass.”

“Han Jisung! But you already knew that. I’m a music major, the same year as you, and of course, I work at the 24-hour cafe.”

“Kim Seungmin, nice to meet you. I do photography and criminology, and I’m in the same year uni as you are.”

Finally, Jeongin leaned forward so he could introduce himself. “I’m Yang Jeongin. You’re my Hyung and sunbae at university. I’m taking child psychology and I’m one year below you. I’m from Busan, if you couldn’t already tell. It’s nice to meet you, Felix.”

Felix grinned at them all, paying close attention as they all went around and introduced themselves one by one, not interrupting as they spoke. He nodded each time someone said their names and what they did, meeting their eyes in acknowledgement. 

“It’s really nice to meet you guys too! As you all already know, you can call me Lee Felix, I’m born in 2000. I’m an English major at university, and my family is living in Australia. I moved to Korea on my own 5 or so years ago now. English is my first language, so if I make a mistake feel free to let me know.”

Chan perked up suddenly at this, “Wait, seriously? Where in Australia?”

“Sydney?” Felix said, confusion evident. Jeongin could understand why. Felix’s accent was obvious, but Chan’s was barely noticeable unless you knew to listen for it.

“I’m from Sydney too! My family moved to Korea when I was younger, so I’ve been living here for a while now, but I really miss it.”

“Oh, no way! When was the last time you visited?” Felix asked, suddenly excited with Chan. their conversation broke into English, and Jeongin couldn’t keep up at the speed they spoke and their funny accents. Jeongin at least could pick up that Felix’s was slightly different than Chan’s but similar enough he couldn’t tell how. The blond boy’s eyes crinkled in crescent moons as he laughed at something Chan said. Jeongin glanced again at Changbin, who was staring at Felix. When Seungmin joined their conversation, prompted by Chan, Jeongin nudged Hyunjin.

“Hyunjin-Hyung,” he whispered to the older boy.

“What is it, Jeonginnie? Do you sense something from Felix?” Hyunjin turned fully toward Jeongin, eyes dramatically wide. 

Jeongin shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I actually really like him, he seems cool. But look at Changbinnie-Hyung.”

Hyunjin whipped his head around to look at Changbin behind Chan’s back. Changbin, of course, noticed the dramatics from Hyunjin and broke his staring contest with the side of Felix’s head to look wide-eyed in their direction. Suddenly, his cheeks coloured bright red and he stood up, mumbling something about grabbing a drink.

Hyunjin turned back to Jeongin, a sly smile on his thick lips. “He’s whipped,” he stage-whispered. Jeongin threw his head back and cackled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ship begins hehe
> 
> I have headcanons for everyone's lives/jobs/etc. so hmu if u wanna know more lol  
> also I got inspo for their majors/jobs from past interviews/vlives where they talked about what they would do if they weren't idols. I played around with it a bit though so it's not 100% accurate anymore, I just thought these would fit them.
> 
> *EDITED*


	4. Face On Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changbin has some realizations

_Changbin_

His face felt like it was on fire. Hyunjin, Jeongin, and even Minho had caught him staring at Felix. Thankfully the boy in question had been too wrapped up in his confusing English conversation with Seungmin and Chan to notice, but Changbin was embarrassed all the same. His friends probably wouldn’t say anything to Felix, but the second he was gone Changbin would get an earful.

But he just couldn’t help it. When Felix had walked into the living room, Changbin had carefully schooled his features to not give away how attractive he thought the boy was. He was beautiful: sharp, defined features, bright eyes, full cupid’s bow lips. Then he’d opened his mouth and spoken in the deepest voice Changbin had ever heard. And he was sweet, just as Jisung had said. Changbin liked him already, and not just because he was cute. He was expressive and listened closely, even when Changbin could barely squeeze out all of 5 words when he’d introduced himself. All he could do was pat himself on the back for not stuttering.

Soon, the other boys would start to wonder where he was, so he took a few deep breaths to calm himself and hopefully lighten the blush gracing his cheeks before he headed back into the living room, remembering his excuse for escape at the last moment and grabbing a glass of water.

He sat back down on the couch, glaring at Hyunjin and Jeongin, both grinning widely at him. Felix was sitting quietly, waiting for Changbin to sit before he spoke.

“So, Changbin-Hyung--is it okay if I call you that?” at Changbin’s nod, Felix continued, “Changbin-Hyung, what style do you tattoo?”

“I do a lot of dot work and realism, but I can do pretty much anything.” he managed to say without making a complete fool of himself.

“Do you have your own place?” Felix asked, curious and honest. God, he was so fucking beautiful.

“No, I’m actually still apprenticing, but I already have a few regular clients. Our studio is in that mall near the train st-station.” Changbin cursed himself internally for stumbling on that last word, his blush flaring back to life. Chan gave him a funny look, but Felix blazed on, not acknowledging his stumble.

“Oh wait, that’s actually a really cool place! I’ve been with a friend of mine before, a few months ago now. He went to the owner for a traditional piece on his bicep. It’s a really cool studio. Maybe we crossed paths there!”

“You’ve probably crossed paths with most of us, actually,” interjected Hyunjin, “Since we all had to take the mandatory first-year English courses.”

Felix’s eyes went wide, “Oh, true! That’s so cool,” he grinned, and the others giggled with him.

The 2000-line started listing courses they thought they could have taken together with Felix, and Changbin relaxed a bit, taking the attention off of him for now. Minho elbowed him gently and grinned when Changbin glanced over, making him blush again.

“Stop,” he grumbled under his breath, pouting. 

Felix gasped quietly, and when Changbin glanced up, Felix was looking at him. He quickly glanced down when their eyes met, though.

“What?” asked Jisung.

Felix cleared his throat, cheeks a little pink. “It’s already 7:30! I didn’t realize I’d already been here so long! I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.” He stood and bowed toward them, but Chan quickly stood as well and waved him off.

“No! No, don’t worry about it! We all had a lot of fun, I’m sure. Will you head out now, then?”

Felix sighed, “I should, Eric’s apartment is on the other side of the city.”

“Oh, that’s far! You’d better go, then. Jisung will text you with our decision soon, we promise. It was great to meet you, Felix.”

“It was awesome to meet all of you, too. Thank you so much for having me over to get to know you guys a little, you were all so friendly and fun to be around.”

Suddenly, Chan turned to Changbin. “Binnie, can you walk Felix out to the bus stop for me, please? It’s dark out already, I wouldn't want anything to happen.”

Felix tried to convince Chan it wasn’t necessary, but when Jeongin insisted, discreetly winking at Changbin, he caved. Changbin had no say in the matter, so he did as he was told and walked with Felix and Jisung to the front door, slipping on his shoes as they chatted.

“I know I’ve said thank you a million times already, Jisung, but still, I really appreciate all the kindness you’ve shown me until now. I’ll see you at school?” Felix smiled at the other boy, who smiled right back.

“Of course! See you, get home safe! I’ll be sure to text you as soon as they decide.” Jisung patted him on the shoulder and opened the front door for them. “Bye! See you in a bit, Binnie!”

“Bye!” Felix called, while Changbin just waved.

Once the front door was closed, Felix turned to Changbin. “Shall we?” he said lightly, and they started walking toward the bus stop. The slight chill in the air made Felix pull his hood over his light hair.

“Sorry that you have to walk me to the bus,” he said. 

Changbin shook his head, “No, don’t worry about it. If I wasn’t doing it, someone else would have. It’s just something we do in our house, if ever someone is coming home or leaving after dark we try to walk them to and from the bus stop. Chan’s a worrier, it makes him feel better when we do.”

Felix nodded his head in understanding, then smiled, “That’s really sweet actually. You guys all seem to have a really great relationship.”

Changbin laughed, “Yeah, we do now, but it wasn’t always like that. Jisung and Hyunjin used to hate each other, actually, until they had a really big fight and couldn’t even be in the same room together and we locked them in the basement to sort out their issues.”

Felix’s eyes blew wide. “For real? I can’t imagine Jisung yelling for any reason other than excitement. Why did they fight?”

“It was a month or so after Hyunjin moved in. Jisung got jealous of him, I guess, thinking Hyunjin would steal his spot in the group dynamic or something. He didn’t consider that Hyunjin wanted to fit in with all of us in his own way, and didn’t want to steal anything from anyone. He’s an angel, through and through.” Changbin froze. He'd let their secret slip so easily! He mentally slapped himself. Felix was so easy to talk to, he'd forgotten they were keeping their supernatural identities a secret. He started to panic until Felix spoke.

“Yeah, he seems really nice. It’s cool we had a fine arts course together last year, I’m surprised I never noticed him! He’s pretty noticeable, to be honest.” Felix laughed, and Changbin deflated, relieved. He’d either ignored his slip of the tongue or hadn’t even noticed. Then Changbin processed Felix's compliment to Hyunjin and felt a bit green, though it was quickly swept aside by the blond boy next to him.

“Looks like we’re here. Thanks for walking me, it was nice to talk to you a bit more.” Felix turned to face Changbin fully, his beautiful eyes crinkling into crescents from his smile.

Changbin smiled back a little shyly. “No problem, as I said, it’s standard for us. You’ll get used to it.”

Felix’s eyebrows rose. “I’ll get used to it? Does that mean I have the Changbin-Hyung seal of approval?”

Changbin backtracked through what he’d said, kicking himself again for saying things so casually, but begrudgingly admitted he did genuinely like Felix. “Yeah, I guess you do,” he said, and Felix’s already wide grin widened, making his eyes disappear. The bus pulled up then, drawing both their attention. Felix’s back was turned, and Changbin took note of the multitude of pins adorning his backpack. He noticed one pin in particular that made a small smile creep onto his face and the little bit of worry he’d been holding in left him.

“Thanks, Hyung! You’re the best! See you!” Felix waved cheerily at him before stepping onto his bus, glancing back to wave again. Changbin waved back, his blush erupting over his cheeks.

When he got back to the house, everyone was still gathered in the living room. Minho and Jisung were draped over each other in the loveseat, while Jeongin and Hyunjin shared the big couch, Hyunjin’s wings freed from the binding spell he’d used to hide them while Felix was here. His greyish and brown-banded feathers were fluffed out, wide wings splayed across the couch. While it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable to hide them, they did get a bit stiff after a while. He tucked them closer to himself when Changbin approached. Seungmin was on the other couch, and had taken off the beanie he’d been wearing to cover his pointed ears and purplish hair. Changbin combed his fingers through his hair so it lay a bit flatter, his horns peaking out.

“Changbin-Hyung, come sit!” Seungmin patted the couch next to himself and offered Changbin the bowl of popcorn he was holding when the older boy squeezed in next to him.

Chan had taken up the seat Felix had vacated, and was facing them all with a thoughtful look on his face. The others sat quietly, waiting for him to say something. Finally, after what felt like ages, Chan turned to Jeongin.

“You didn’t smell any magic coming from him?”

Jisung gasped and tried to look scandalized at the thought of Jeongin _sniffing_ their guest, but all he received for his dramatics was a slap on the arm.

Jeongin shook his head, “he’s human, or really good at hiding it.”

Seungmin and Jisung nodded too. “We would have noticed if a lesser fae was using glamour. If you concentrate you can see right through it. It’s mostly to hide from humans anyway.”

Chan nodded at this. The only creatures he could think of that would have enough power to completely conceal their magic strongly enough that none of them noticed would be demigods, High fae, or archangels, and the chance that sweet, little Felix was any one of those was slim to none. “Is there anyone who’d be uncomfortable living with a human, then?”

He pointedly looked over to the loveseat Minho and Jisung were sharing. Jisung glanced at Minho, who was frowning, but when he spoke it was in a thoughtful tone. “I don’t… I didn’t get any bloodthirst or anything while he was here. Actually, I could barely smell him. So, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. He’s definitely not a witch, I would know.”

They all collectively released a bit of tension they didn’t know they’d been holding on to. A grin was slowly creeping onto Jisung’s face. They all turned back to Chan, who sighed. “All in favour of letting Lee Felix move in with us raise your hand.” Seven hands shot up with little hesitation. “Alright, that settles it then. On one condition!” Chan added before Jisung could stand up to cheer, “We’ll keep our true species secret from him until we’re sure he won’t react badly. Just… pretend we’re humans at home as well as when we’re outside. Can everyone do that?”

At that, Changbin interjected, “I don’t think that’ll be a problem at all, Hyung,” he said, and at everyone’s confused look, he continued, “I noticed he had a Supernatural Allies Committee pin on his backpack.”

Jisung gasped dramatically. “He’s on the Committee at school?”

Hyunjin clapped exaggeratedly, but Chan shushed him. “We don’t know that for sure, though I doubt he’d have a pin if he didn’t at least support them. Still, we’ll give it a few weeks before we make any more big decisions like revealing ourselves to him. How does that sound?” At everyone's agreement, Jisung finally stood and let out the cheer he’d been holding in, and rushed to his room to text Felix the good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this chapter was late, I feel so bad! School just started up, so I'm in class every day now. Hopefully, access to wifi daily and time on the computer will have me writing more :)
> 
> *EDITED*


	5. Big First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix reflects and moves in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Gotcha with that double update cause I feel bad for missing the last deadline lol. Here's another Felix chapter!

_Felix_

The entire bus ride home, Felix couldn’t stop grinning. The boys had all been so nice to him, even the quiet ones like Changbin and Minho. He was sure once he got to know them that would change, though. Felix knew they liked him. It was fae instinct, he could tell none of them felt any animosity toward him. They were wary and hiding something, but as they spoke the tension slowly dissipated. 

But that wasn’t the main reason why Felix was grinning. He kept thinking of Changbin’s cute blushes throughout the evening. He’d been nervous when he spoke, though Felix had chosen to ignore his little stumbles and choppy sentences. Until they’d walked to the bus stop together, and he’d opened up a little more. Felix could tell that even though Changbin had a dark exterior, he was actually really sweet on the inside. 

In fact, they all were. Jisung was just as friendly as before, as was Jeongin. Seungmin was smart and eloquent, the way he spoke making him seem older than he was. Hyunjin was dramatic, his reactions to everything making Felix laugh the entire time. Minho was reserved but interjected often with little comments, quietly thoughtful and funny. Chan was caring, he could tell he took care of everyone else even though he was barely older. Chan acted like a leader, but the other two Hyungs supported from behind. Overall, the dynamic reminded Felix of a big family. No one was left out or forgotten, and Felix had felt included the entire time. He felt like he could belong with them.

His phone buzzing pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned on the screen to look at the notification from his messages. He yelped, the old lady across from him giving him a look. He didn’t care though, he was too happy. He replied quickly, his answer full of emojis and exclamation marks.

Felix moved in three days later. Chan had driven his car over to Eric’s to help Felix move all his boxes, which there weren’t many of, mostly clothes and smaller items Felix was able to quickly pack up when his old landlord had kicked him out. All his big stuff was still over at his old place, like his bed, desk, and couch. When Felix had sheepishly admitted this to Chan, the other had gotten angry.

“Wait, you mean just because you couldn’t adjust to the new rent he made you give up your keys right then and there? That’s bullshit!” 

Felix shrugged. “It happened, it’s in the past. I just wish I could get it back.”

Felix could see the gears turning in Chan’s head before the other voiced what he was thinking. “I’ll go with someone. We’ll get it back for you. No, don’t argue--” Felix shut his mouth. “--We’d do it for any of the boys. Besides, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve I think would be useful.”

He didn’t say anything more, and Felix didn’t ask. The rest of the drive, they spoke about other topics, like school, and how hard Korean was to learn. They bonded over music as well, Felix agreeing to help Chan write some lyrics he was working on. 

When they got to the house, Felix gaped at it just like he’d done the first time he visited. It really was huge--nearly a mansion, nestled in the trees next to a quiet park. Felix could hear a stream bubbling from where he stood in the driveway. The front of the house had a large porch, and many windows dotted the front and sides. The house was cream coloured, and looked Victorian, though it wasn’t old or run-down looking at all. There were flowers and trees dotting the fenced-in front yard, giving the house some privacy as well as a natural look. Felix could appreciate privacy. Well, he could appreciate all of it, especially the proximity to nature, but the fact that the house didn't even look like it was in the middle of bustling Seoul really upgraded the appeal. 

“Close your mouth, you’ll swallow a fly,” Chan said jokingly from where he stood at the trunk of his car, pulling out one of Felix’s boxes, “Grab a box and follow me, I’ll show you where your room will be.”

Felix did as he was told, grabbing a box full of clothing and following Chan through the entrance. “You said your family owns this place?” he asked as they ascended the stairs.

“Yeah, it’s been in the family for generations, and I started to use it when I went to university. No one cares that I rent some of the rooms out to friends, no one else visits or uses it. In fact, they probably like that there are more occupants. Keeps the brownies happy.” The last sentence was mumbled a bit quieter, probably not meant for Felix to hear, but his keen fae hearing had picked it up anyway. He didn’t say anything about it, though, just stored it away for dissecting later when he was alone.

“Have you known everyone for a long time, then?” He asked.

Chan shook his head. “Not really, no. I’ve known Changbin and Jisung the longest, and the last to move in before you was Minho, about 6 months ago, now. But we all get along really well, thankfully.”

“Changbin mentioned Jisung and Hyunjin didn’t like each other at first.” Felix smiled at Chan’s eye roll. 

“Oh god, really? Yeah, Hyunjin moving in was a bit of a different situation. I won’t get into it now, but Jisung was wary of him at first. It all turned out okay in the end, though.”

They reached a room at the end of the hall, and Chan kicked the door open. Inside was an antique-looking bed frame, a closet, and a large window that overlooked the park. “Will this be okay?” Chan asked, setting down the box he was carrying. "There's a mattress in the other room we still have to move, but once that's in, you're all set for tonight, I think."

Felix just stood in the doorway, taking it in. it was barebones for a bedroom, but it was his. Chan turned back around to face him and instantly concern filled his face.

“Oh, no, don’t cry! If you hate it there’s another one you can use, we have some junk in there but we can clean it out, it’s a bit smaller though--” Felix cut him off with a shake of his head.

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s perfect, really.” he set down his box to wipe at his eyes. “I’m just a bit of a crybaby, it’s fine.” he sniffled.

Chan approached him slowly like he was afraid to startle him. The older boy patted his back lightly. “What’s wrong?”

Felix shook his head again. “Nothing is wrong, really. I just feel really happy and thankful to you guys right now. I was so lost about what I was supposed to do but you helped me out so much. I don’t want to be a burden or make you feel like you have to take me in. Thank you.” Chan handed him a tissue from seemingly nowhere. 

“Hey, hey, Felix? It’ll be okay. We’re happy to have you here, really. You aren’t just a charity case or anything, don’t worry. This is your home now, too.”

“Thank you,” he blubbered out again, Chan shushing him and continuing to pat him on the back, rubbing gentle circles.

When Felix calmed down a bit, they went to get the rest of his boxes from the car, then sat at the kitchen table while Chan made tea.

Most of the other boys were out, either at school or at work. Minho was home, but Chan said he was sleeping, as he worked the night shift at the shelter. He’d leave after dark and be home in the morning.

Chan started humming as he puttered around, and Felix froze. His instincts screamed at him that some kind of magic was being used on him. He could feel a strange warmth wash over his body, despite the rising panic at the sensation he felt. For a moment, he considered bolting, when a realization made him relax. Whatever it was Chan was doing, it wasn’t to harm Felix. In fact, it was the opposite. He could feel the other boy’s desire to help him seeping through as well. It compelled Felix to get up and help Chan with whatever he was doing, which he did his best to suppress.

He cleared his throat instead, and Chan stopped what he was doing to turn toward Felix, humming interrupted. The warmth dropped away with the last note, but a bit of it lingered, like the last bit of cosiness that stays with you when you leave your house on a cold morning. Felix smiled at him, understanding the older boy’s wish to comfort him. “So, should we talk about rent?”

Chan laughed and handed him his mug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this one! I just wanna say thank you to everyone who's read and given kudos and commented and bookmarked. You guys are why I keep writing this, so thank you, I appreciate you guys a lot!
> 
> *EDITED*


	6. Blood On Your Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho backstory!! Yay! I had a lot of fun with this chapter :D

_Minho_

He could hear Felix and Chan laughing from the kitchen, but he still felt too drowsy to go and join them. Jisung had hardly wanted to go to class today, wanting to stay and welcome Felix. He was glad the blond boy had been able to move in, the younger boys were so excited to get a new friend their age. Minho himself, while wary, had slowly gotten used to the idea of having a new roommate. He would no longer be the newest member of the house, which meant the teasing on that front would ease. 

He thought back to the day he had been accepted into Chan’s house. It had been raining, as it so often does during such cliche events. Minho had been leaning against a brick wall in some dingy alley when Chan had turned the corner. His eyes widened, glancing between the man laying face down in a puddle and Minho’s bloody mouth. Minho barely had strength left to stand up, let alone chase after Chan.

He’d finally killed what he thought was the last of the men-- witches -- who’d been hunting him. He couldn’t comprehend why they had chased him all the way across the country, perhaps for some summoning ritual or grudge against vampires, but it made Minho incredibly wary of anyone possessing magic, witches especially. He had been running for months, as they chased him day and night, never giving him more than a day to rest before one of them caught up to him, each encounter leaving Minho fearful and trembling. Nevertheless, he’d known he would never be able to escape if they all found him at once, and so he had had to pick them off one by one, just barely escaping with his life each encounter. This last witch had been the strongest, perhaps the oldest or most experienced of them. He’d nearly killed Minho at his weakest in the process. The witch’s blood on his tongue was bitter and metallic. He spat it out onto the wet asphalt.

Chan watched his face from the mouth of the alley. He took a step forward, and Minho tensed with the last of his strength, ready to fight once again. Though he had no need to.

“Need some help?” Chan asked, sticking his hand out to Minho. He eyed it suspiciously, teeth still barred.

“Why? What’ll it cost me?”

Chan shook his head. “Nothing. You look like you’re in a bit of trouble. I can help you.”

Minho narrowed his eyes. “How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you aren’t one of them ?”

Chan blinked, but a moment later the skin on his outstretched hand rippled, revealing blue-black scales that disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared. He smiled a bit sadly at Minho. “Because I know what it’s like.”

The snarl on Minho’s face dropped. He tentatively reached for Chan’s hand, who clasped it in a strong but gentle grip, helping him to his feet. 

“Where are we going?” Minho asked as they got into Chan’s car and sped off, away from the body.

They weren’t worried about leaving evidence, supernatural against supernatural crimes were rarely investigated by human police, and these witches were notorious for stirring up trouble. No one would blink twice at the witch’s body. Anyone who might have cared about him was already dead. Hopefully.

Chan smiled again, this time all hints of sadness gone, replaced by twinkling eyes. “Home,” he said simply.

Minho could almost look back on the memory with fondness, but he could never think about what had led him there in the first place without having to suppress a shudder. He still avoided witches at all costs, though he knew most were nothing like the coven he’d encountered. Quickly, Minho had become a permanent member of the house, easily forming bonds with the other members after getting over his initial wariness. They accepted him and made him feel welcome, never digging too deeply into his past if he didn’t want to talk about it. Though eventually, he had opened up to them, and they had reciprocated. After a few weeks of living at Chan’s, he decided it would be best to start contributing to the house’s finances and had looked for night shifts. The animal shelter had been a blessing, and the owners were really nice to Minho, grateful someone would accept the graveyard shift. He had come to love working there. The animals were all super cute and he’d bonded with their infamously grumpy mascot cat that hung around the office.

Really, he'd had no choice but to adopt a few of them. Soonie and Dori were curled up on his bed at the moment, sleeping. Doongie was probably hidden somewhere high up, waiting to pounce on his next unsuspecting victims.

Minho sighed, resigning himself to getting up. Jisung and the other students would be home from school soon. He padded down the stairs, quiet even for a vampire, and entered the kitchen.

“Hello,” he mumbled, startling Chan, who yelped and whipped around. Felix turned around as well, much slower than Chan, a smile on his face. He didn’t seem surprised to see Minho.

“Good morning, Minho-Hyung!” he said cheerfully. Minho glanced at the clock. It was a bit past 3:30 pm. He narrowed his eyes at Felix, who giggled.

“I’m too tired for this,” Minho said and padded over to the cabinet. “How was the move?” he asked as he rummaged about for a glass. He found a large mug and decided that’d do, padding over to the fridge.

“Good! I don’t have a lot of stuff so it was only one trip.” Felix said.

Minho produced a pink jug from the fridge, labelled ‘  **Minho’s. Do NOT drink!!!!** ’, and filled his mug with the thick red liquid. He took a sip before sitting down across from Felix and Chan.

“What? What about, like, your bed and dresser, and whatnot?” Minho asked. He was slowly gaining colour to his cheeks the more he sipped from his mug. Felix glanced at it curiously but didn’t ask about it.

“His stupid landlord made him give up his keys so he couldn’t get back in after leaving.” Chan cut in, shaking his head disapprovingly. Minho’s eyes widened at that.

“Are we gonna go get his stuff back?”

Chan smirked mischievously. “Of course we will. Just gotta figure out the best plan.”

Felix was glancing between the two of them like he couldn’t follow the conversation. Minho wondered if it was a language thing, but then he opened his mouth. “I still don’t get why you would do that for me.”

Aaah. there it was. The ‘I’ve never really had someone be this nice to me just because’ mentality that Minho was oh-so-familiar with.

Minho shot Felix a crooked smile. “Get used to it, kid, you’ll get a lot more of it while you live here.”

Felix blinked at him confusedly but nodded anyway. At that moment, the door banged open, four voices simultaneously yelling, “We’re home!” from the entryway.

Jisung, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin came barrelling through the door to the kitchen, arguing about something that sounded suspiciously like Yu-Gi-Oh when they noticed Chan, Felix, and Minho at the table. 

“Felix!” Jisung slid into the chair next to Minho, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning his cheek against his shoulder. “Did you get all your stuff moved in? Need any help unboxing?” 

“No, that’s okay. I only have clothes and smaller things anyways,” Felix said with a small smile. Minho felt bad for the boy. He didn’t even have proper bedding for the night. An idea struck him as Chan explained to the four who’d just come in why Felix didn’t have any of his stuff. The other kids were just as frustrated for Felix as Chan and Minho had been, of course, but Minho interrupted their indignant cries.

“Why don’t we have a sleepover in the living room tonight? Tomorrow’s Saturday anyway so it doesn’t matter how late we stay up,” Minho suggested. Not that he’d be staying for most of the party. He still had his shift that night.

“Oh my god, that’s a great idea, Hyung!” Jeongin shouted, the other boys joining in.

As they started to plan what they would do that night, Chan turned to Minho, a knowing smile on his face. “Trying to get Felix’s mind off of other things?”

Minho shrugged. “One of many reasons, I guess. We’ll get to know him faster this way too.”

Chan grinned at him and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed Minho's perspective! I actually really liked writing for him, I feel like he's the most similar to me.
> 
> *EDITED*


	7. Popcorn and Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding ensues-- you cannot escape the clutches of friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new perspective, yay!
> 
> Also, there are so many references in this chapter, I just couldn't help myself. Can you spot them all?

_Felix_

Eventually, he excused himself for a bit to go and put his stuff away in the closet. As he hung up his clothes, he thought about what he’d learned about the other boys in the short amount of time he’d known them. Already, he could tell none of them were normal humans. Although they must be fairly good at hiding it when they were out in public, since they were still, you know,  _ alive _ , they relaxed at home, despite Felix’s presence. Small things, like Minho’s thick red drink he’d poured for himself while Felix was right there. Actions or words they probably never even considered as things they would need to hide became obvious evidence.

Although it was possible they weren’t trying to hide from Felix, and they’d already figured out what he was too. The thought of that alone made him tighten his glamour around himself, which dulled his hair colour, softened his features, and of course, masked the fact that he was far from human. Another High Fae would be able to tell, despite the glamour, and maybe even some lesser fae, though Felix doubted any of the boys were the types of fae that would be able to tell. He guessed Jisung and maybe Seungmin were fae, based on the way they acted and what they wore.

Chan was an obvious one. He’d all but told Felix what he was earlier in the kitchen when he’d sung to calm him down. Sirens were rare this far from the warm waters of the equator, though Chan was from Sydney originally, which made more sense. Felix would have to ask him why he’d moved to South Korea some other time. He remembered Chan had mentioned brownies living in the house as well, which, if he could, Felix would try to get on his side. They’d be useful in many different ways. Also, it was just polite to introduce yourself to the other inhabitants of your home.

Suddenly, it occurred to Felix that if the others were all non-humans, they wouldn't care that Felix was too! He shook his head, trying to dispel some of the anxiety twisting his gut, but found himself unable to let go of his glamour. It wrapped around him like a shield, and he felt naked without it. Though keeping it up made it nearly impossible to use most of his magic, it felt safest to keep it up. Besides, if he were threatened, he could drop it in a pinch.

He considered all of this for a moment and decided he'd relax as time went on. Clearly, the boys were comfortable enough at home not to hide themselves from Felix, purposefully or not, so wasn't it a bit rude to continue to hide himself from them? Once he was sure of what they all were, he'd start to drop the glamour, bit by bit, and then they'd slowly figure it out on their own, and he'd never have to tell them himself. Perfect plan.

He was just about finished putting away his stuff when someone knocked on his door.

“Come in!” he called. The door pushed open and Hyunjin peaked his head around the corner, his long blond hair tied back in a cute ponytail, strands framing his pretty face.

“We’re ordering pizza, wanna come help decide what to get?” Hyunjin smiled at him, eyes warm and genuine, and Felix couldn’t help but smile back.

“Sure!” he set down the shirt he was holding and followed Hyunjin downstairs. He quietly picked a brown feather off Hyunjin's back without the other boy noticing.

There were already sleeping bags set up in the living room, and the couches and coffee table were pushed against the wall to give the boys more space. Hyunjin dove into the pillows between Jeongin and Seugmin, who yelped when he landed heavily on their legs. Jeongin managed to pull his legs out with some difficulty, and Seungmin half-heartedly tried but ended up giving up quickly. He slapped Hyunjin on the back instead, making him writhe in false agony.

Before Felix could feel awkward, Chan patted an empty spot beside himself. Felix smiled gratefully at him and sat. Chan bumped his shoulder playfully into Felix’s

“What movie are we watching?” Felix asked him as he settled. Chan handed him a bowl of popcorn.

“I dunno. I said I’d let the boys pick but they tend to squabble. Could be a while before we get anything in the player. Minho and I talked about getting your stuff for you,” Chan said, “We’re gonna go get it for you tomorrow morning.”

“Really? Why?” Felix was genuinely baffled.

Chan patted him on the back and smiled brightly at Felix, eyes almost completely disappearing with it. “Cause we want to. Don’t worry about it.”

“Um, okay, if you want to I guess I can't really say no,” Felix handed him the popcorn back.

“I do want to. Seriously. You don’t just live here, Felix. This is your home now, too. Same as the rest of us.”

Felix felt his throat close up, so he just nodded. Chan continued to pat him on the back.

The pizza arrived, and they finally chose a movie, Inception. One of Chan’s favourites. Felix had never seen it before, which earned him gasps of indignation from most of the other boys. Eventually, Minho had to leave for work, and half an hour later Changbin showed up. He flopped down immediately, grabbing a slice of pizza. 

Felix smiled at him from where he was leaning against the couch. “How was work?”

Changbin glanced at him and finished chewing his mouthful of pizza before opening his mouth to answer. “Good. Had a few long sessions with regulars so I didn’t have to deal with any walk-ins today. That was nice. Did you go to class today?”

“No, Chan came to pick me up from Eric’s in the afternoon, so I skipped. I don’t mind though, the class I missed is boring as hell.”

Changbin chuckled. “Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same.”

At that, they got shushed by Jeongin, who called them annoying Hyungs. They shared a look that made Felix giggle and Changbin glance away quickly. 

By the end, Felix had to agree that it was a really good movie, just as Chan had insisted. They decided to play a card game Hyunjin taught them after the credits rolled, though they only got through a few rounds before Jisung fell asleep, drooling on Seungmin’s shoulder. When the purple-haired boy noticed, he shoved Jisung off gently. They decided to put on the original animated Aladdin movie instead, and half of them fell asleep almost immediately.

The abrupt silence from the movie ending roused Felix a little, though not enough to give him proper awareness. He could hear two quiet voices speaking in hushed tones.

“...-ike him?” there was a long pause before the other voice answered.

“Yeah. I do.” Another pause, this one much shorter. “Not like that!”

“Yet,” Felix could almost imagine the wiggling eyebrows. There was a muffled smack and some giggling. “But in all seriousness, I like him too. I think he’ll be a good addition to the group. You can already tell how well he fits with the other boys.”

“How soon do you think we should tell him?”

Another long pause. “Two or three weeks at least. If he freaks out we need to be ready for it. No, don’t give me that look. You know how dangerous it could be for all of us if word gets out. So we’ll have to prepare the younger boys for the eventuality. It’ll be more difficult to wipe so many memories at once but if it’s necessary…”

“Yeah, I get it. I do, really. It’s just--kinda sad to think about.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation died after that, and Felix drifted off back to sleep, barely remembering the conversation by morning.

_ Hyunjin _

“Too much butter!” deep, accented English floated in from the kitchen, followed by loud laughter and the scent of breakfast. 

He sleepily stretched his arms, legs, wings, and neck without getting up. Hyunjin’s eyes snapped open and his wings snapped shut. _His wings were out?!_ He was panicking a little until he realized no one in the kitchen could see him where he was laying, and all but his feet were covered in a huge blanket. He guessed someone had thrown it over him in the night because he didn’t remember falling asleep with one.

“Seungmin-ah, too much butter!” Felix said again, this time in Korean.

Hyunjin sleepily padded into the kitchen, after he had double and triple checked his wings were well-hidden. Felix was pretending to guzzle the syrup, and Seungmin was poking at a lump of wet batter on a frying pan. Hyunjin hooked his chin over Seungmin’s shoulder to watch what he was doing. The shorter boy was wearing a beanie. Some of his purple locks stuck out from under it and Hyunjin resisted the urge to push them under the edge.

“What’s happening in here?” He asked, voice cracking from sleep. Seungmin leaned his head against Hyunjin’s briefly in acknowledgement of his presence.

“Trying to make pancakes,” Jeongin piped up from the kitchen table.

“And how’s that going?”

“It’s uh, going,” Felix answered, and a laugh bubbled up from Hyunjin’s throat. Seungmin flinched away from the loudness of it, ducking his shoulder out from under Hyunjin’s chin. He went to go sit next to Jeongin instead, who had his hoodie strings tied tightly under his chin. His face was made perfectly round from his hood cinched around it. Hyunjin patted the maknae’s cheeks and cooed at him. Felix and Seungmin managed to make a few edible pancakes in between the failures, giving them to the two at the table as they finished cooking. A few minutes later, Jisung stumbled in, flopping down next to Hyunjin. He picked a pancake off Jeongin’s plate and nibbled on it. Felix placed a fresh plate in front of him soon after so he’d stop stealing from other’s plates.

Next, Changbin stumbled in, hair rumbled in all directions.

“Whassat?” He mumbled, still sleepy. It was then that three of the most lucid in the room, namely Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin, realized Changbin’s horns were fully visible, curling upward from his hairline. Time seemed to slow for a moment, as horror dawned on them and they glanced at Felix, who’s back was miraculously turned. All three jerked to do something to save the situation before Felix saw, but in the end, it was someone else that saved the day. Minho appeared in the doorway from behind Changbin, throwing the shorter boy’s hood over his hair and squeezing passed him into the kitchen to steal a pancake off Jisung’s plate before anyone could react.

The noise from three of them flinching suddenly caused Felix to look up, glancing at them curiously from where he stood in front of the stove. Changbin blinked confusedly from the doorway until realization widened his eyes and he pulled the hood lower over his face. Jisung just grumbled about the loss of a pancake. The remaining three relaxed, though their hearts raced. They shared a look heavy with meaning. This would need addressing later. They would need to be more cautious if they were to keep themselves a secret from Felix, or he’d end up figuring it out on his own. Who knew what kind of reaction he would have to that revelation.

Hyunjin remembered Changbin mentioning some kind of pin he’d seen from the night Felix visited. He’d have to figure out what that was all about soon. It might help them make a decision faster about whether to reveal themselves to Felix or not and when they should do it. Hyunjin already had a good feeling about him. Despite this, he still thought it’d be best if they told him rather than him figuring it out on his own. They didn’t want to scare off their new friend. 

Out of nowhere, Seungmin smacked him lightly on the back of the head with a spoon. Hyunjin whipped around and gave him a wide-eyed look. Seungmin had a fond smile on his face.

“You were super out of it,” was all the explanation the other boy gave. Jeongin and Felix snickered at them. Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and went back to his pancakes, only to realize Minho had stolen his plate too.

“Yah!” he shouted, grabbing for it, but Minho just giggled and pulled it out of his reach.

“Finders keepers,” he said, shovelling the last of the syrupy mess into his mouth with a catlike grin. “Thanks for dinner!” he called to Felix and Seungmin. He was about to head upstairs to his room when Chan came downstairs, pulling a fresh black hoodie over his still-damp hair.

With one shared glance, the two eldest nodded at each other, and moments later were heading out the front door.

Felix seemed a bit perplexed. “They’re leaving already?” he asked, bewildered.

Hyunjin grinned at him. “Of course! You’re just as important as the rest of us now, so it’s top of their list. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.”

Felix barely seemed to register what he’d said, but gave a faint nod anyways. 

"Yeah..."

_ They'll be fine. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand scene. Hope you like cliffhangers!
> 
> *EDITED*


	8. A Bandage For Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no!! It's the Bad Guys!!!!!
> 
> TW in this Chapter for minor violence!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the long-awaited Chapter 8! to those who've waited all this time: thank you so, so much. I really had no idea what to do after all the drama going on, and it drove me into just... not posting. then school and mental health got in the way big time, but here it is!  
> the comments I received helped me finally get over myself and edit what I'd written, so thank you so much to those who left kind comments! I really appreciate your kind words <3
> 
> just as an FYI: I edited chapters 1-7 somewhat to exclude you-know-who, but honestly, the only one that was heavily changed was Chapter 7. 8 is definitely legible without going back to read that chapter but it might help a bit with comprehension.

_ Felix _

The front door banged open.

They’d been sitting around the living room, writing essays and playing video games, and easy banter occasionally floated through the air. 

The six of them froze, waiting to see what it was. There was cursing and banging coming from the hall when Chan and Minho burst into the living room. Except, something was wrong. Chan was standing with his arms wrapped around Minho, who was slumped over and pale as a ghost, barely holding himself up. Blood streamed from somewhere on his head, colouring the left side of his face red. Chan was out of breath and seemed to be limping.

“Oh my god, Hyungs! What happened?” Hyunjin cried.

“That was one hell of a landlord you had there, Felix,” Chan said, chest heaving.

Felix's heart shattered.

_ Minho _

Chan seemed very determined for so early in the morning, but Minho brushed it off. He knew Chan’s protective streak ran a mile deep, and he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t also feel like Felix was something sweet to be cherished. Though their interactions were short, Minho always without fail knew what someone’s true nature was after a few conversations, and Felix was no different. He could tell almost right away that Felix was shy and nervous around them, but he was full of so much love and happiness to give. The world had done the boy a disservice, making him carry around so much guilt, just as it had for the rest of them, and if that didn’t spark even the toughest man’s big brother instincts he didn’t know what would. He was pretty sure Felix’s smile could turn a wolf into a lapdog. Yes, he understood how Chan was feeling right now. 

Even though Minho was sympathetic to Chan’s determination, he still made him pull into a cafe parking lot so he could get coffee. He  _ had  _ just finished a shift after all, and he was exhausted.

“Do you have Felix’s old address?” Minho asked after the first few sips of coffee.

“Yeah, he gave it to me yesterday when I told him I’d go and get his stuff for him with you.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Chan blew on his tea before taking a tentative sip. “I was thinking we could kinda just intimidate the landlord into giving us the key so we can get the stuff. And if that doesn’t work I can persuade him into giving it to us.”

Minho shook his head. “That’ll be the last resort. We don’t want to risk putting ourselves and Felix in danger by exposing ourselves.”

Chan smiled at him, though he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be perfectly fine. I can’t imagine a student landlord being dangerous enough to threaten us.”

Less than an hour later, Chan and Minho stood outside the office of Felix’s former landlord. They could see a scruffy head and thin shoulders from the window as they walked in, and a man in his late fifties looked up at them as they came in.

“Can’t you read?” he asked, gesturing to the closed sign that had been in the window of his office, which both Minho and Chan had seen but chosen to disregard. 

“We were wondering if you would lend us the key to apartment 385? Our friend left some stuff behind, and we’ve come to collect it from you.” Minho stood at his tallest and spoke as menacingly polite as he could manage without outright growling at the greying man.

“385?” The landlord frowned for a moment, then it deepened and he shuffled through some papers before his eyes widened. He glanced up at the boys standing in front of him and grabbed his phone. Suddenly, his tone was angry. “You two are also--? Nevermind.”

He shakily tapped around on his phone for a moment before scowling at the boys again. “I already threw that stuff out. If you want it you can check the dumpster out back, but I doubt it’s still there. Now get out of my office.” 

He made a shooing motion with his wrinkled hand. Minho could tell he was afraid of them.  _ Did he know, somehow? _ The short man stood and made an aborted motion as if to shove them toward the door, but flinched before touching them, which only seemed to anger him more. His scrawny chest puffed up and his face reddened. “I never want to see you or your kind here again. Tell that fucking fairy that if he ever comes back here I’ll kill him.”

Chan and Minho reeled for a moment.  _ What did he say? _

They shared a look that translated to,  _ we’ll talk about this later. _

Chan narrowed his eyes at the man threateningly, then stalked out, Minho on his heels. As they made their way around the building, they could see the landlord shouting at his phone to someone on the other end, gesturing wildly at the boys outside. Their eyes met through the glass, and the landlord didn’t try to hide his fear this time.

_ Chan _

“Let’s get the furniture and go,” Minho said as they rounded the corner of the building, the dumpster coming into sight. They could see a haphazard stack of what looked like an apartment’s worth of furniture next to it, thrown carelessly. It was way too much to fit in Chan’s car, but maybe they could pick out items they didn’t already have in the house. “The fact that he called someone the second we left really bothers me.”

Chan side-eyed Minho. “Yeah. Right. But, what about what that guy said in there?”

Minho shrugged with an air of nonchalance, but Chan could see the pinch between his eyebrows. “Honestly, he could have meant a number of things. Not necessarily, like,  _ fae _ . Maybe he meant it in a homophobic way. The bastard.”

Chan raised an incredulous eyebrow, but shook his head, deciding to ignore it for the moment. They could deal with this problem later. And they  _ would  _ deal with it. It was way too concerning that Felix had suffered living in a complex run by that asswipe on its own, nevermind whatever he had implied in his office. 

Chan pulled the car around to the back, and as he did, a truck roared into the lot, parking in front of the office. Several big, burly men piled out, one of them giving Chan a nasty look as he entered the office. They were wearing strange clothes, almost like what you would expect biker gang members to wear, although there didn’t seem to be any coherency to the different logos. They all had matching blue bandanas they were wearing in various ways, though Chan couldn’t tell if there was anything written on them from where they stood. He decided to ignore them as best as he could and backed the car up to where they could start loading in the furniture. They decided they didn’t need to bring the bed, as Felix could continue to use the one in the bedroom, but they managed to fit his desk and chair in, with some difficulty and removal of certain pieces they’d have a hard time getting back together later, he was sure. There was a beanbag chair they squeezed in last minute, and a lamp. The whole time, Minho side-eyed the group of men, and Chan kept a careful eye on them himself, unsure of what they were there for. By the time everything was in the car though, they hadn’t moved from around the truck, so he relaxed a bit.

“That’ll do, right?” Minho asked, a bit out of breath from the lifting.

“I think so. I don’t think we can fit anything else, so it’ll have to do.”

Just as Chan opened the driver’s side door, he saw the men who’d arrived in the truck behind Minho. Before he could shout a warning, one of them raised a plank of wood and smashed it over Minho’s head, who stumbled and nearly fell over. Chan rounded the car as fast as he could, mind on overdrive. 

There were four men, all much larger and sturdier than either Chan or Minho, though they’d be about even in terms of strength if these men were all human. However, Chan could tell Minho was practically out for the count. He was slumped against the side of the car, and blood was starting to run down the side of his face. 

Chan jumped in front of him, arms raised up defensively. “The Hell do you want?” He snarled at them, purposefully letting the light catch on the unnatural sheen of his eyes. 

The man who’d glared at him earlier sneered but didn’t say anything, just took a swing at Chan’s head, which he managed to block with his arms. A second later, one of the other men kicked hard at Chan’s knee. He heard it pop painfully but managed to stay standing.

“Get in!” he yelled at Minho, who obliged as Chan took a few more hits. He lashed out at the closest man, hitting him hard with his elbow to send him stumbling into the guys behind him, then slid across the car hood and slammed the driver’s side door behind him, hitting the lock repeatedly before shoving the stick into drive and smashing the gas pedal to the floor.

As they peeled away from the apartment block and onto the road, Minho’s head lolled worryingly against his headrest.

“Shit. Shit. What the fuck just happened?” Chan whispered to himself. His hands were shaking on the wheel. “We should go to a hospital. Minho? You with me?”

Minho nodded, then shook his head. “It’s too risky. Let’s just go home, we’ll heal fast enough anyways.”

Chan shook his head. “You probably have a concussion!”

Minho lifted his head and grinned at Chan, blood between his teeth and eyes hazy. “Nah. I’m okay. Seriously, I can’t do hospitals, Chan.”

“Oh shit, right. Also, that is terrifying, please stop.” Chan threw a sweater that was sitting in the backseat at Minho’s head instead. “Put pressure on it so it stops bleeding at least. Can you do that?”

Minho croaked out a weak “Yep,” before covering his hair with the sweater and pressing down on it.

Not long after, they arrived home. Chan limped over to Minho’s side and hauled him out, supporting his weight even though every step hurt.

They crashed through the front door and down the hall toward the kitchen, where the first aid kit was.

Seungmin saw him first from his perch on the couch parallel to the hall, and he lept up immediately, making the rest of the boys look up too. Varying degrees of horror dawned on their faces.

“Oh my god, Hyungs! What happened?” Hyunjin cried, standing up from where he’d been sitting cross-legged at the coffee table.

Chan glanced at Minho, who hung semi-limp from his grasp, then at Felix, who stood near the TV with a controller in hand. His eyes were wide and full of alarm.

“That was one hell of a landlord you had there, Felix,” Chan said, chest heaving. Felix nearly dropped the controller he was holding. Despair started to cloud his features, but the others sprang into motion, their surprise worn off.

First, they were ushered into the kitchen, and Hyunjin and Jeongin cleared the table as quickly as possible. Seungmin turned off the TV and gently took the controller from Felix’s hands, guiding him into the kitchen behind Chan and Minho. Changbin rushed to the cabinet to pull out the first aid kit. 

At first, Felix seemed confused by the sudden commotion, but he quickly jumped into action and helped Chan get Minho and himself seated at the table in the chairs Jisung pulled out for them.

“Are you going to tell us what happened?” Changbin knew not to press the subject if it was tied to anything supernatural, but he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the two eldest while they’d been gone.

Chan shook his head. “Honestly, I have no clue. This group of rough-looking guys just pulled up and tried to beat us up without any explanation. It was super weird.”

“What, for no reason? Literally?” Hyunjin asked.

Chan shrugged. “The landlord was super rude. We were expecting that, but still. I don’t know if he called them or what, but they went into his office. Maybe to talk, maybe they threatened him or something, I don’t know. They were all wearing these blue bandanas though. Didn’t say a word to us. Just snuck up and whacked Minho on the head.”

Felix looked concerned and fearful, but showed no sign of recognition. The tiny kernel of suspicion Chan had kept to himself fizzled out. Felix was not the type to be associated with a gang, and his old building wasn’t even in an unsafe neighbourhood. He’d speak to him later, just to reassure him. Chan was sure he was blaming himself, since it was while they were getting his stuff that they’d been injured, nevermind that Chan had insisted they go despite Felix’s protests. However, a small part of him couldn’t deny the landlord’s words. But, Felix,  _ fae?  _ Only a member of the High Fae would be able to manage a glamour strong enough to mask their magic from two lesser fae as well as a plethora of other supernatural beings for as long as Felix had been, and soft, sweet Felix was so far outside of what Chan knew High Fae to be that it seemed more and more ridiculous the more he thought of it. It was like someone calling a kitten a ferocious man-eating tiger with a completely straight face. He’d talk to Minho and Felix later. For now, they had other, more pressing matters to attend to.

They treated Minho first, since his head wound was definitely worse than any damage Chan had taken. Changbin took charge of the first aid. He had more experience than the rest of them from clients passing out and having to clean up their messes in the studio, though none of them were strangers to injuries like this. 

Except for Felix, maybe. Chan wasn’t too sure  _ what  _ kind of experiences Felix had had. He realized that although they had talked for hours the night before, Felix hadn’t really shared a whole lot about his past with them. Although, none of them had really talked about their pasts, at least, not the deep stuff. Since they weren’t human, a lot of their history would have to wait to be shared with Felix until they’d broken the news to him about their non-humanness. Chan tried not to snort at himself, face contorting funnily. Seungmin raised an eyebrow at him as if to say,  _ are you sure  _ you  _ aren’t the one with the head injury? _

Minho hissing at an alcohol swab snapped Chan out of his thoughts.

“Oh, stop being such a baby,” Changbin said, without any venom in his voice.

Minho tried to roll his eyes, but the effect was ruined when he winced again. “Shut it, Annabelle. I’d like to see how you behave after you get your head smashed in.”

“You  _ have  _ seen how I behave after I’ve had my head smashed in.” Changbin finished with the alcohol wipe and surveyed the damage. “I think it just bled a lot cause it’s a head wound. It’ll stop soon and I’ll put a proper dressing on it then. For now, that’ll have to do.” He folded up a length of gauze into a square and pressed it gently to the wound. “Hold that,” he commanded, then moved to Chan. as soon as Changbin was out of the way, Jisung rushed forward to kneel in front of Minho and carefully conduct an inspection of the headwound for himself. Minho just smiled a bit dopily at the younger boy, eyes soft, and Chan averted his gaze from the sweet display of romance.

“Alright, Channie-Hyung, what’s up with you? You haven’t got a concussion too, right?”

Chan shook his head. “Naw I’ve just got some bumps and bruises here and there.” He showed Changbin the worst spots, and he put ointment on them.

“Seungminnie, do you still have that knee brace?” Changbin asked after Chan explained what’d happened to his knee.

Seungmin nodded and disappeared upstairs. Changbin gave Chan a bag of ice in the meantime. Finally, Changbin stood from his crouch and declared them not likely to die.

“You’re gonna be real sore for the next little while, but you’ll live. Unfortunately.” The Changbin seal-of-approval meant they were cleared to go and rest.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the boys still present in the kitchen, and they slowly dispersed, Changbin and Jisung helping to support Chan and Minho up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the boys are a bit banged up, but hey! they got that lamp, at least!
> 
> Thank you guys so, so much for reading! I love each and every one of you that reads and kudos and comments <3\. I'm going to try to post once a week, and hopefully, my mental health doesn't spiral like it did last semester lol. Feel free to come yell at me over on Tumblr dot com at @aroha-bby <<<333


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